


Tadem inter Pares

by archives222



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Internet, Not A Fix-It, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Popularity Contest, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03, Secret Identity, TV News, Talking, but not by Ladybug, slight chat noir bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24855820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archives222/pseuds/archives222
Summary: The first ever Paris wide super hero popularity contest.  Cat Noir and Ladybug gather to see the results.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	Tadem inter Pares

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer  
> I own nothing of this fandom. All rights belong to the producers and appropriate distribution companies. Please support the official release.  
> Author notes  
> This takes place after the end of season 2, Heroes day but before the introduction of new heroes in season 3, so before Desperada and Viperion’s appearance since they are the first to appear according to the production numbers.  
> See end notes for translation details

Marinette glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time that evening as she worked her way through some bakery chores. Waiting to see if she needed to make an excuse to escape from her watchful parents. It’s not that she didn’t love them, however there was some pressing Miraculous business happing soon that she wanted to be present for and as the minutes ticked by, she suspected she would be late.  
That was… until her father lifted his hands above his head and several bones popped into place. “AHHHH.” The baker sighed as he relaxed. “That hits the spot. Nothing like a hard day’s work to make coming home to some lovely young ladies feel more appropriate then ever.” Tom winked at his wife who just blushed and let out a slight laugh.  
“Papa, we just live upstairs.” Marinette half complained, as much at her father’s flirtation as anything else.  
“Yes but upstairs is home, this is BAKING!” Tom nearly bellowed as he showed off the triple layer chocolate cake he has just put the finishing touches on.  
“Well I have to do homework not baking work.” Marinette countered.  
“Oh.” Tom deflated.  
“Then go ahead honey, your father and I can finish up here. Do you want us to get you for the program later?” Sabine asked ushering her husband back to the counter.  
“No thanks mom. I really don’t care about some popularity contest about super heroes.”  
“But honey.” Tom interjected, “We are talking about the largest pole in Paris history. More people voted on this then they did the last election.”  
“Which just go to show how important they are.” Sabine chimed in as she finished putting some measuring cups away after getting washed.  
“Or how bad the election turn out is.” Marinette muttered, thinking about Mr. D’Argencourt and Mayor Bourgeois.  
“What did you say?”  
“Nothing important.” Marinette replied. “Thank you for the offer Mamam, Papa. But I think I’ll just finish up some stuff in my room all right?”  
After her parents shared a look for a second they nodded. “Understood honey.”  
“We’ll check in on you before we go to bed.”  
Marinette smiled and gave each of them a peck on the cheek. “Thanks. I love you both.” Before bolting up the stairs and into her antic bedroom.  
Tikki popped out of one of her hiding places and floated on eye level with Marinette. “Is everything set?” The fairy god asked.  
“We’re good Tikki. Now time for the finishing touches.” Marinette responded before setting up some yarns of cloth over a mannequin in what resembled a design and some more by her sowing machine. Scatter some sketches haphazardly along the floor in such a manner that if her parents came up early, they would have to walk on them to get to the roof top access, something they would never dare, and she was set. Leaving the roof door open a crack to make it appear like she was taking a break on the balcony Marinette smiled at her pre-work. Nobody would assume that she wasn’t about to come back and continue her work.  
Tikki floated over everything before smiling at her chosen. “Looks good Marinette.”  
“Ok then. TIKKI! SPOTS ON!”  
After a flash of color Ladybug set off across the rooftops.  
She checked the watch build into her yo-yo as she went just to confirm the time and knew she was right on schedule. At 7:48 PM she landed on the Basilica of Saint-Denis to find a blanket had already been set down and her partner relaxing against the wall with a portable television screen being projected from the end of his baton. Giving them a perfect picture of the river Seine and the Stade de France.  
“Bonjour Chaton.” Ladybug greeted as she came to a rest next to him.  
Cat Noir bounded up to her with a bit too much enthusiasm. “Bonjour my lady.” He replied as he moved to take her hand in a kiss. Which she just as quickly slipped out of to take a seat on the blanket. If Cat Noir was put off by the subtle rejection, he didn’t show is as he returned to the blanket as well and needlessly adjusted the focus on his baton.  
“Cutting it a bit close for our little meeting tonight aren’t we.” Noir teased her.  
“Close but not late.” Ladybug countered lightly as she held up some sandwiches she stopped to get on her way there. She couldn’t bring anything from the bakery in the off chance that her partner would recognize them and deduce her identity, however as a baker’s daughter, Marinette knew many of the best cafes and food stands in her part of Paris and chose one just out of walking distance from her family bakery but along the way to meet her partner on the rooftop.  
Cat Noir’s face lit up at the offered him food. Forcing Ladybug to wonder not for the first time if he got enough to eat at home, or that he could even afford to eat well at all. But she stuffed those questions down into her mental ‘cannot know anything about each others private lives’ box and tried to ignore them. It was slowly getting harder to do. After nearly five months of working together, she was starting to recognize some traits about her partner that could be used to uncover his identity.  
She knew for instance that while he was an only child, he has a surrogate sister that while he would admit could be a cruel person, that he loved deeply.  
She also knew that he had the feather allergy and that he never had any pets before in his life.  
She also knew that his kwimi loved rancid smelling cheese even though he himself didn’t and had gotten a bad reputation in his civilian form for the smell. Marinette was grateful that Tikki’s choice of cookies didn’t give her the same trouble.  
Before she could delve any deeper into those thoughts, the TVi theme song came on and she returned her attention to the projected screen.  
“Good evening from the city of light. I am Alec Cateldi and this is GLAMOUR DIVISION!” The shave headed host pronounced.  
Cat Noir set down his half-finished sandwich to watch the show with his lady.  
Despite what some believed, he and Ladybug didn’t spend much time together. At first they did have an organized patrol schedule but then Cat realized that Hawkmoth deduced the routine and had set three akumas to trap them. Following that he was able to convince Ladybug to randomize it more.  
Cat said that he would role dice and if the numbers were integers of the date, he would go patrolling. Ladybug suspected that there was more to it then that but she didn’t ask. She did it more regularly based on her availability, which could be sporadic now that she had so many things to do.  
However they had both agreed for this rare non-akuma meet up to see the show.  
Following the events of Hero day, the city news channel wanted to see who was the City of Lights favorite hero. What had started off as a basic online pole the likes of which Alec ran on almost a weekly basis had exploded in popularity, do in no small part to Chloe getting wind of it and influencing her father to make a public statement about it, increasing its recognition. As a result the TVi’s system couldn’t handle the overload of traffic and crashed. Following some negotiations it was determined that the public would have two weeks of online voting from email accounts and the results would be broadcast in a live ceremony with Chloe and Alec Cateldi as hosts.  
“Tonight, we viewing the results of a special pole that has all of Paris up in arms. And with me to announce the results of this pole are none other than one of Paris’ own super heroes. Chloe Bourgeois!” Alec then leaned in close to the camera conspiratorially, “Or otherwise know as Queen Bee.”  
“Thank you Alex.” Chloe stepped forward to take the spotlight.  
“It’s Alec.” The man muttered but kept a smile on his face.  
“Whatever.” To the camera she announced. “You the people of Paris have voted on who your favorite super hero is. Of course, I am going to be second place and Ladybug will be first but lets see where the other losers are placed.”  
“I couldn’t have said it better myself Queen Bee.” Alec responded with a plastic smile on his face.  
Cat Noir couldn’t help but contain his laughter. “Alec looks like he’s chewing on rocks.”  
Ladybug couldn’t help but agree. “Would you want to have to share the spotlight with Chloe more then you have to?” She asked.  
“You forget my lady that I had to babysit her from an akuma once.” Noir swooned dramatically and almost landed on the food. “She made me do her homework for her. HOMEWORK! I mean it was easy as I had done it all recently myself but still…”  
“Ah. The pain it must have been.”  
Cat Noir fell into her lap. “You have no idea.” He righted himself before looking back at the screen.  
“There are roughly 2.14 million people in Pairs right now.” Alec continued on the screen while Chloe filed her nails. “Of them, 1.75 million voted resulting in… Wow a whopping 82% turn out for this vote. I have never seen numbers this high.”  
“He’s playing for the camera.” Cat Noir said.  
“How do you know?” Ladybug asked. Her partner was right, but she wanted to see his reasoning.  
“Besides the half an hour time block?” Never taking his eyes off the screen while stuffing some candy into his mouth Noir continued, “His eyebrows twitch. He always does that when he’s playing for time.”  
“Oh. Do the kitty have a secret in with the tv people?” Ladybug teased.  
“Na. He played on a celebrity gambling game every year. See him do it enough times and you learn his tells.”  
This raised a red flag with the lady. “You gamble?”  
“What? NO! They tried go get my-” Cat Noir’s hands went up to cover his face. After a second he put them down. “I’m sorry. No personal information I know.”  
Without saying a word Ladybug leaned onto Cat Noir’s shoulder and they returned focus to the program.  
Alec was part way through the interviews and Jagged Stone was talking while flossing the teeth of Fang.  
“I know everyone expects me to say Ladybug and she is totally rock’en but I have to give my vote to Cat Noir.”  
At this Chloe forced her way into the conversation. “Why the sidekick?”  
Jagged shot the socialite a glare. “Noir’s not just a sidekick. He does all the odd jobs. After Fang and I got de-akumatized, he swung by for a visit.” The rocker chuckled. “It turns out that he can actually play the piano really well. Classically is not my style but the boy shore does know how to play it. We actually go back an’ fourth a bit whenever my creative mojo isn’t flowing as well as it should.”  
“Wait!” Alec seized on this bit of information. “You and Cat Noir play together?”  
“Sometimes. Sometimes it just one of us. While he cannot hold a candle to the ultimate rocker of Paris he has a good ear for musical progression and the flow ya’ know. It helps to get an outsider’s point of view on things. Even if their advice isn’t always useful it can help ya see things in a different light. Cat Noir is great for that.” The rock star then let out a smile before looking over his glasses. “He’s also not afraid to lend a helping paw when I need some help with Fang. Indestructible suits can be really handy when my little Fangy Wangy is angry.” And like that a musical icon of the world nuzzled a killer reptile like it was a kitten and the crocodile responded in kind.  
Ladybug looked at her partner in mild surprise. “You visit Jagged Stone?” She questioned.  
Noir looked away with a slight flush on his cheeks and rubbed the back of his head while letting out a small laugh. Cat Noir wasn’t the only one to recognize tells. She knew he was stalling for time.  
“I um… check in on a lot of akuma victims in one way or another. You know. Just to make sure everything it ok.” The black clad cat admitted while not pointedly not looking at her. “Most of the time I can do it without any noticing. Either at a distance and just listening in or checking on them while out of the mask. But sometime… well I get caught.”  
“Oh.” At first she was touched by his sincerity. As Ladybug, she couldn’t do much to help the akuma victims other then hand them off to authorities. As Marinette, she would look in on those that she could without being obvious. But most akuma victims were not people she could talk to without being suspicious. The idea that Cat Noir was not only doing something similar, but apparently in a more effective way was surprise. “And how many of our former foes have found themselves a friendly feline?” She asked, loving the alliteration.  
With the projection playing in the background Cat Noir started to count off on his hands, “As Cat Noir, Aurora Beaureal, Theo Barbot, Jalil Kubdel, Officer Raincomprix, both of the harpele, Jean Duparc, Vincent Aza, Jagged obviously, the mall Santa; he’s a hoot by the way.”  
“Ok ok. I get the picture.” Ladybug interjected. “how about a number?”  
“Between human and superhero, I think I’ve check in on about 80% at lease once. August loves it when I come over but I think his mother believes I am an imaginary cat friend. And Miss Chamack asked me not to, so I stay away from her and Manon.”  
Ladybug did the math in her head. “That’s over 50 people.” She said as much to herself as him.  
“Ya I know. It can be a hassle keeping all the akuma straight. I’ve had to make a spread sheet about it.” While keeping the tv screen up Cat Noir pulled a spread sheet. As Ladybug looked she saw every akuma they had tangled with, dates, the akumatized item, powers and even Noir’s own hypotheses on how likely they were to be re-akumatized. It was no surprise that Mr. Xavier Ramier was a mainstay on the list.  
“I think this might be a more complete list then Alya has on the Ladyblog.” Ladybug commented.  
“I would hope so. We are the one’s who fight them after all. Plus I keep the names. Mayor Bourgeois may not be the best leader the city has had, but his AVDP is perhaps one of the best laws he ever passed.”  
Ladybug just hummed in agreement with that because nothing more was needed to be said. Not long into Hawkmoth’s attacks, it became apparent that people who had become Akuma victims were being persecuted and their identities were being released to the public resulting in harassment. The Akuma Victim Discrimination and Privacy bill (AVDP) was created after he was reelected as Mayor. It stated that the existing privacy acts were extended to include Akuma victims and those that caused the akumitization. It was part of the reason Chloe wasn’t in prison for causing so many akuma but it also mean that people like Alya couldn’t be told they couldn’t get a job for something they had no control over as an akuma. The law also prevented people like Miss Chamack from losing their jobs. Overall it did far more to help people then not.  
Ladybug returned her attention to the screen to see that the interviews were done.  
“Now lets stop beating around the bush folks.” Alec said with his overly white smile.  
“About time.” Chloe huffed.  
“Quite right Queen Bee. It is time to see the results of the city-wide pole. And a drum roll please.”  
An off-screen snare drum started to play.  
“Chloe, as our special guest, would you do the honors of reading off who got first place?” Alec offered her an envelope with gold glitter on it and a big number 1 on the front.  
“Don’t mind if I do Alex.” She responded.  
Alec didn’t even bother trying to correct her.  
“And the person with the most vote in the first Parisian Super Hero popularity contest is” She paused to ripe the envelope open and read, “Without any real surprise Ladybug with 40.8% of the vote.” Chloe just let the paper fall to the side with a flip of her hand. “Called it.” She said with a look of smug satisfaction.  
Along the lower part of the screen popped up the percentage as well as the number of individual votes and some comment that people had left when they voted.  
“714,053. Impressive my lady.” Cat Noir read from the screen. “You took almost half of the people who voted and…” he did some math in his head, “33% of the total city voted for you.”  
Ladybug couldn’t help but be smug at the result. “I guess the city of lights loves me.” She declared.  
Alec had taken the second envelope off the table. “And second place goes to… Rena Rouge with 19.5%.”  
Chloe fumed in the background but didn’t say anything. Just like with Ladybug’s results the percentage and numbers flashed on the bottom bar of the display. Coming to a total of 341,251.  
Cat did that same calculations. “16% not bad.” He said about his fellow mammalian themed hero.  
Chloe quickly grabbed the third place envelope and ripped it open with more force then was needed. “What is this. Carapase? How did HE get 17.2% of the votes. I demand a recount at once. This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.” Chloe huffed and matched off stage but they could hear her in the background saying something about her Daddy.  
Despite himself, Alec looked relieved to be rid of his co-host.  
“Well then, lets see which of the two remaining heroes was able to take fourth place?” He asked the screen and his audience. “Well would you look at that. Queen Bee took 4th with 15.4% of the vote.”  
Again the numbers appeared with her getting 269,499.  
“And we all know that Cat Noir got last place but lets see how the little pussy cat faired.” The host opened the last envelope. “OH. A measly 7.1%. Well better luck next time tiger. And a special thank you to our sponsor. The House of Agreste designs. For more information about the results and to look at all the comments and details. Please visit our website shown on the bottom of the screen. Next time we will be collecting oh this is just hilarious, adorable cat photos to vote on. Hey Cat Noir, maybe you can send one in and do better on that. GOOD NIGHT PARIS.”  
The ending credits of the show began to play.  
Ladybug didn’t look away from the screen. Afraid of what she might see on her partner’s face. He hadn’t made a sound since the second-place victor was announced. Nor had he moved.  
Gathering her courage she looked over only to see her partner’s head angled slightly away from her and up like he was looking at a cloud passing in the night sky. “Cat?”  
He didn’t answer for a second. “Wow.” He finally said. “I did better then I though I would.”  
That goaded Ladybug into action. She moved around to get a better look at his face.  
“Cat Noir its just a stupid contest. It doesn’t mean anything.” She tried to reassure him but he refused to look at her. Instead he shut down the tv projection on his staff and brought up the website for Glamor Division.  
He instantly pulled up the numbers for the show they had just watched before jumping over to the comments section.  
“Please Cat, don’t do this too yourself.” Ladybug almost begged.  
“Do what my lady?” Cat Noir asked like nothing was wrong. “I just want to see what the people said. I was a bit too distracted to read the comments as they came up on the screen.”  
Before Ladybug could decide what to do, she heard him reading out loud, “He’s always getting taken over by the villains forcing Ladybug to fight him. He may as well be working for Hawkmoth. Well you’re not wrong Riverheart248. Although I would like to think I have been getter better about it as time goes on. And send.”  
“Your responding to them?” Ladybug demanded.  
“Why not?” Cat Noir responded. “They went through the effort of commenting, it would be rude if I didn’t try to get back to at least a few of them.”  
“But he just insulted you!”  
“No more than people often do. You should see some of the stuff they post on the Ladyblog about me.” He paused for a second, “or better yet don’t. Some of them can be quite perverted and I wouldn’t want you tracking them down. Beside, Alya tries to delete the worst of them before they get too big of a following.”  
This stopped Ladybug for a second while Cat Noir continued through the comments.  
“He causes more damage to the city then most of the Akumas. If it weren’t for Ladybug’s magic there would be no Paris left standing.” He paused for a second before responding out loud, “While that is a valid point, I am only so destructive with my Cataclysm because I KNOW that my lady will be able to fix everything in an instant with her Lucky Charm. So if it causes no lasting damage and helps us defeat the Akuma faster, I don’t see the problem Laughternlight.”  
“You should stop Cat.” Ladybug said.  
“Only a few more Bugaboo. Alright MucizeFelix , what do you have to say. He looks like he’s the tall dark and brooding type but he acts like a kid playing a video game. Ladybug can do so much better then that him both as a partner and a boyfriend.” Cat Noir started to dictate his response. “Me-ouch that hurt. But I have to correct you MurcizeFelix. While I would love to date her, my lady insists that we keep things strictly professional between us.”  
“You didn’t even try to defend yourself on that one.” Ladybug cried as she made a half hearted move to take his baton away form him.  
“What’s to defend. It’s the truth after all. Does anyone else think his power is freaky. The ability to destroy with a touch is something a villain would have in a comic book. Not a hero. Well Mr./Miss Choujuuken2099 you obviously haven’t hear of the idiom “Bad powers, Good people”. Try looking it up. Your ability doesn’t dictate what side of the law you are on, only how you go about your business.”  
“CAT STOP!” Ladybug commanded and this time she did swipe the baton away from him. “You don’t have to keep doing this.”  
“What?” He asked but still refused to look at Ladybug in the face. “Not all of them are bad. One of them form Colour Me Ren even had a nice word play. Rena Rouge is a real vixen. A woman holding the fox miraculous. A female fox is called a vixen.” Cat laughed at that but it lasted only for a second before a slight sob escaped him.  
“Kitty.” Ladybug tried to direct his face so he was looking at her but Cat Noir just looked down, allowing his bangs to hide his face.  
“Have you ever read anything about psychology my lady?” Cat Noir asked while looking down.  
“No. Kitty and I don’t see how that matters right now.”  
“It does. According to Froud there are three parts to the human mind. The two subconscious parts are the ID and the Superego. The ID is responsible for base needs and things that are wanted immediately with no regard for anything else but that want. The Superego is the direct opposite of the spectrum, it is to be hyper rational. Thinking things through with a willingness to wait and be patient. The third part, the Ego is the active mind where the ID and Superego meet to form the personality.”  
“Cat that has-“  
Ladybug was interrupted when Cat Noir put a finger on her lips to prevent her from speaking and despite herself, Ladybug surrendered.  
“You my lady are almost pure Superego. You think things through, are detail oriented and overall awesome. That is why you are so much better at making plans to fight the akuma then I am. You Ego is almost completely dominated by your Superego subconscious.” He then gestured to himself. “I on the other hand am the reverse. When I am out of the mask, I am trapped by my life. I am almost completely lacking in self-confidence. Everything I do is beyond my control and I have almost no room to make decisions for myself. I am so reserved that sometimes it is difficult to remember I have a personality and am not just a human shaped puppet. And when I do, I feel disgusted with my lack of initiative.”  
Ladybug wanted to stop him. He was revealing TOO much about himself. Precious information that she or Hawkmoth could use to fine out his identity. But Nor had yet to take his finger away form her lips and like some unknown spell, all she could do was sit and listen.  
“So as Cat Noir I overcompensate. I become a flamboyant. I make puns and jokes. Cat Noir is the outlet I can never have. As such, I am driven almost completely by my ID. ‘Can I jump that wall?’ ‘How close can I get to that attack without being hit?’ There is no active though process. Just the need for instant gratification.”  
He looked away from his lady companion and let his hand drop. Before dropping the final bombshell in a voice little more than a whisper. “In some ways I am no better then when Chloe first got the Bee Miraculous.”  
“How can you compare yourself to Chloe!” Ladybug demanded.  
“Because as Cat Noir I created an Akuma too.” … Silence before he continued. “It was Copy Cat, you know… Theo. I realized he had a massive celebrity crush on you during the statue dedication and I purposefully implied that you and I were romantically intimate. He took it the right, or I guess wrong… the way I intended it. Hawkmoth took control and you remember the rest.  
It took Ladybug a moment for the pieces to fall into place. Copy cat had been a while ago and she had tougher battles since then.  
“So that’s why he was all over me.” She laughed. “Kitty we all make mistakes. It’s Hawkmoth who exploits them.”  
“That’s not what I mean.” Cat Noir confessed. “After the fight was done, all I could think about was how I felt slighted. That while Theo was the akuma, I was in some way the injured party. It wasn’t until later, after I had changed back, how disgusting I was being. That some dark part of me is always like that. That I don’t fight Hawkmoth because he is evil but to have a thrill.” He looked away again in disgust. “That part scares me. And the people of Paris feel it too.”  
Ladybug slammed her hand down to prevent her partner from talking any further. “Just shut up Cat. You are nothing like that.”  
“How do you know? What with your strict no personal information policy, how do you actually know I am not a terrible person?” Cat Noir demanded. His voice rising in line with hers.  
“And how do you know I am that benevolent?” Ladybug shot back. Both could use the lack of information on the other. “How do you know that after our first fight with Stoneheart I didn’t contemplate giving my miraculous up to Hawkmoth? Or that I haven’t use it for something selfish?”  
“Because I KNOW you!” Cat Noir almost shouted and with that, his anger fled leaving only regret and self-loathing. “I know that when Hawkmoth first offered to stop attacking in exchange for our magic that you considered it. And that you have every once in a while used these abilities for personal gain. But you also get better. Each time you make a mistake you see it as a chance to grow. To improve yourself so you don’t make that mistake again. I cannot. I’m stuck in the same position I was when we began.” He looked up at her, somehow seeming smaller despite that fact that he was half a head taller then her even when sitting. “Have you ever noticed that when we arrive on the scene of an akuma attack, it’s your name they cry out? That there is always your merchandise on the shelves. Hell, even the other three have more popularity then me and they have only been around for half the time I have.” He indicated to the non-existent popularity number. “You are the sun that burns all of Hawkmoth’s darkness away. I am merely the shadow that the sun creates.”  
“Then they don’t know anything. I cannot fight a single battle without you.” Ladybug countered.  
“You already have.” Noir said looking down. “Style Queen.”  
Ladybug froze at the mention.  
“You defeated her without me even making it there.” Cat Noir said gently. “And without the help of other heroes. That just proves you can do this job without us.”  
“That doesn’t prove anything.” Ladybug tried to defend but it felt hollow even to her own ears.  
“Yes it does. But the fact that you still think you need us is comforting my lady.” Cat Noir responded as he brought her one of her hands up to give it a kiss and Ladybug didn’t resist. Too drained by the evening.  
“But it’s a good thing that Froud has been debunked in almost every form.” Cat said with a smile.  
“He… what?” Ladybug asked, taken aback by this sudden shift.  
“As with most pioneers of any scientific discipline, almost every one of Froud’s ideas have been found to be wrong or gross simplifications of the actual world. At best, his hypothesis only work in a 19th century patriarch Victorian setting that thinks women lack the ability to self-actualize themselves and must always be governed by men much like how a cow needs a farmer to survive. And as we can see,” Cat Noir indicated to Ladybug, “he never men anyone as amazing as you, my lady.”  
Ladybug glared at her partner. “Then why bring it up?” She demanded.  
Noir looked abashed. “To spent more time with you.” He said in a low voice.  
“What if I have something else to do this evening?” She demanded again. Pointing one finger at Cat Noir’s chest.  
“Because I know you Bugaboo. You would have cleared your schedule for the evening in the off chance that something happened.” He looked into her eyes. “So I took advantage of that to spend a few more minutes with you.”  
Ladybug hesitated for a second. Wondering how much of what Cat Noir had said was merely a stalling tactic, and how much of it was what he really felt and just trying to be cavalier about it. Hiding his pain in plain sigh so that she wouldn’t take it seriously.  
“Well I don’t like being manipulated.” Ladybug declared when she couldn’t come up with an answer to her internal question.  
“I know my Lady. But alas we should get going.” Noir said as he gently ushered his lady to her feet before cracking his back. “Tomorrow is a school day after all and I would like a few winks beforehand.” As if to play with his words the ally cat winked at Ladybug.  
“Just…” Ladybug began. “Just don’t do anything foolish Cat Noir. I still need you.”  
He responded with a grin like the last hour never happened. “I prrrr-omise my lady that you will see me at the next akuma battle with bells on.” He reached up and flicked the bell at his throat.  
Ladybug let out a giggle at that one. Knowing she would regret it later but not caring.  
“Good night Cat Noir.” She called as she leapt off the roof. Looking over her shoulder at him.  
“Good night Labybug.” Cat Noir responded and waited until the night swallowed her up.  
“You will always be the first among equals.” Cat Noir whispered. Waiting a full minute before turning away he finally let the tears fall. “While the last among equals slinks off into the shadows.”

**Author's Note:**

> End Notes  
> Using Sigmund Froud psychology  
> Cat noir: Pure ID = in his private life he is so restricted by rules and decorum that he feels he cannot express himself in any way without feeling the disappointment of his father and thus self-disgust. So as a hero he tries to make up for it by being as over the top, romantic and flamboyant as possible as an outlet for himself and a relief valve for his normal life. However because of that he will leap before he looks and gets into trouble. On reflection he feels he is the weakest link in the team not because he isn’t skilled but because he will always be the lesser to Ladybug’s greater.  
> Ladybug: Super Ego = she thinks things through down to almost microscopic detail. She both in and out of the mask she is detail oriented but obsessed with having a plan and following it through but can create plans on the fly easily. While she is creative on both sides in different ways she can also feel the pressure of it all and that can get to her and she doubts her abilities at the first sign of a mistake.  
> Chloe/Queen Bee: Id = due to an over indulgent father and a mother that would spend more time over seas then with her, she has a very self centered personality that is born from always getting what she wants and never having to pay for her mistakes. Being a hero is as mush to make herself feel important as it does to help other people. She likes the limelight and all the perks that come with it.  
> Carapase/turtle: Ego = not involved too much in the story  
> Rena Rouge: Ego = not involved too much in the story  
> The names for the commenters come from the Miraculous ladybug fandom wiki. They were not used with permission as I don’t know how to get such a thing. My apologies if you are or know any of these bloggers but their names were not used maliciously or with the intention of distaste, I just needed some random names and couldn’t think of a better way to get them.  
> Tadem inter pares – latin – last among equals.  
> No official meaning  
> Primus inter Pares – Latin – first among equals.  
> Officially used to denote that a while all people in a group have equal power or say, the one with the most seniority is sometimes called this. Roman emperors starting with Constantine the Great and his successors would take this title in an ironic form. However on the other hand, the chief Justice of the USA Supereme Court is also given this title. While he/she has no additional power over the cases themsleves, he/she does decide who will write the opinion of a case for the public after they make a ruling on a case. The book Animal Farm also used it ironically the motto, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal then others”.  
> Something that I also find ironic is that while several countries do have a Heroes Day, France is not one of them. At least not that I could find.
> 
> I also wanted to include a part about Cat Noir admitting to Ladybug that he/Adrien almost gave up the black cat miraculous out of a feeling of neglect and taken advantage of. However I couldn’t incorporate that into the flow of the story without feeling out of place.  
> As an argument can be made in universe that Adrien/Cat Noir is the un-favorite of all the heroes. The fact that Ladybug was willing to reveal both Alya and Nino’s identities to each other on Hero’s day but she was never willing to extend that courtesy to Cat Noir is a prime example of that. Also the fact that as far as we know, Marinette has tea and interact(ed) with Master Fu on a regular basis but there are only two instances of Fu doing the same with Adrien. Meaning that even Master Fu views Adrien as the lesser of the two heroes.


End file.
